List of charities undergoing tax audits related to political activities

List of charities undergoing tax audits related to political activities

Locutus

#1Jul 22nd, 2014

The Canadian Press
Mon, 21 Jul 2014 14:10:00 CST

OTTAWA - Some Canadian charitable organizations under recent audit for their political activities. Revenues and percentages based on the groups' most-recent filings with Canada Revenue Agency. Rules dating from 2003 limit spending on political activities to no more than 10 per cent of all expenses:

Pen Canada, Toronto
Charity for freedom of expression, 2011-2012 revenues of $311,000; zero per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began in July 2014, includes political activities. Continues.

Tides Canada Foundation, Vancouver
Environmental foundation, 2012 revenues of $16.3 million; zero per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began in 2011, includes political activities. Continues.

Subject of formal complaint by Ethical Oil to Canada Revenue Agency in August 2012 regarding political activities.
Tides Canada Initiatives Society, Vancouver
Environmental charity, 2012 revenues of $13.2 million; two per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began in 2011, includes political activities. Continues.

Subject of formal complaint by Ethical Oil to Canada Revenue Agency in August 2012 regarding political activities.
David Suzuki Foundation, Vancouver
Environmental charity, 2012-2013 revenues of $9.9 million; five per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began in May 2013, including into political activities. Continues.

Subject of several formal complaints by Ethical Oil to Canada Revenue Agency, starting April 2012, regarding political activities.
Ecology Action Centre, Halifax
Environmental charity, 2012-13 revenues of $1.9 million; four per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began fall 2012, including into political activities. Completed earlier this year with charitable status intact.

Canada Without Poverty, Ottawa
Social-justice charity, 2012-013 revenues of $378,000; three per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began in fall of 2011, expanded to include political activities in 2012. Continues.

Equiterre, Montreal
Environmental charity, 2012 revenues of $4.7 million; one per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began January 2013, including into political activities. Continues.

United Church of Canada, including Kairos
Religious charity, 2013 revenues of $45.1 million, of which $2.2 million was for Kairos; 1.1 per cent expenses for all political activities, and 4.5 per cent for political activities at Kairos alone.
Audit began in fall 2013, including into political activities. Continues.

Environmental Defence Canada Inc., Toronto
Environmental charity, 2012-2013 revenues of $3.8 million; five per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began in 2011, expanded in 2012 to include political activities. Continues.

Subject of formal complaint by Ethical Oil to Canada Revenue Agency in March 2012 regarding political activities.
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ottawa
Public policy charity, 2012 revenues of $5.3 million; zero per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began in October 2013. Continues.

Amnesty International Canada, Ottawa
Human-rights charity, 2012 revenues of $11.8 million; one per cent of expenses for political activities.
Audit began in December 2012, including into political activities. Continues.

Political activities pretty much means explicit involvement in party politics. As long as you avoid naming names, so to speak, you're pretty safe. Or used to be. One thing I don't like about this government is the way they use the machinery of government to go after their adversaries. If the auditors are going after the CCPA, they should be going after their mirror image, the Fraser Insititute.